Chapter 108 – Evacuation (Part One)

“Hmm…”

In front of the bathroom sink, Kang Il-hyeon stared into the mirror.

He was stroking the underside of his chin, turning his head this way and that to examine his face.

To anyone else, he might have looked like a man admiring himself after washing his face, but he was merely looking at the scar beneath his chin.

The A-rank monster that had appeared in downtown Seoul, Nightmare.

It was a wound inflicted by that beast.

A scar he had long given up on, impossible to heal with either medical technology or special powers, but now he had something new to try.

*It’s not a serious injury, so a C-rank core should be enough.*

Il-hyeon raised the core he was holding in one hand.

Then, with both hands, he pressed the core against the scarred area under his chin.

He closed his eyes, focused his mind, and drew upon his power.

Just like when he had healed Cha Yeon-hee, a brilliant light flooded his surroundings.

*Whoosh!*

Il-hyeon, who had squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, slowly opened them as the light subsided.

“Spotless.”

Il-hyeon said with satisfaction as he looked in the mirror.

The long scar that had been under his chin was completely gone.

Il-hyeon touched his face again and tried using his ability. His features shifted freely, without any issue.

Whenever he had disguised himself before, the scarred area had refused to change, and it even took more effort to alter the rest of his face. It had been a major nuisance, so this was a welcome development.

“I can’t believe this kind of power is possible.”

Even to him, it was an astonishing ability.

It could restore a severed arm, suppress the backlash from high-level abilities while healing injuries, and even make a scar, previously incurable due to a monster’s curse, vanish completely.

Most importantly, this wasn’t a temporary transformation like before; it was a permanent restoration, healing the wound back to its original state.

While it required a core of a corresponding level, it was a groundbreaking advancement.

Since the emergence of the Awakened, countless healing-related abilities had appeared in the world, but none had ever been as potent as Il-hyeon’s, which could regrow a severed arm.

*Click!*

Just then, a man opened the bathroom door and walked in.

He wondered who it was, and it turned out to be Song Joon-ho, his face as frigid as ever.

It wasn’t a new thought, but every time he saw the man, he was reminded that even the stoic Seok Pil-joon was nothing compared to him.

They rarely spoke, but whenever they did, it felt like talking to an emotionless machine.

This time, however, was different from what Il-hyeon expected.

“Thank you for what you did.”

“Pardon?”

“I owe you my colleague’s life.”

“Ah…”

“Also, Team Leader Jeong Jin-seong is looking for you. You should probably go see him soon.”

“Oh, I didn’t know. Thank you…”

As if he had finished his business, Song Joon-ho left the bathroom as soon as their conversation was over.

It was almost funny that he had come all this way just to say three sentences.

*Looks like he really cares about his colleagues. That’s unexpected.*

Il-hyeon chuckled, washed his hands under the running water, and left the bathroom to find Jeong Jin-seong.

He wasn’t far.

After going up one floor, he found Jeong Jin-seong in a room with a large table, shuffling through documents.

One of the walls was half-collapsed, a remnant of the battle, but at least the room wasn’t splattered with blood.

“The scar is gone?”

The sharp-eyed Jeong Jin-seong noticed the change in his face immediately.

“I gave it a try, just to see, and it healed this too.”

“You made a severed arm grow back. At this point, something like that isn’t even surprising.”

Jeong Jin-seong was still captivated by Il-hyeon’s ability to have perfectly healed Cha Yeon-hee’s arm.

As an Awakened who had worked in this field for so long, he knew better than anyone just how astonishing this ability was.

He had seen countless individuals forced to retire from their lives as Awakened after losing a limb in battle.

“Ah, and I forgot to mention, I took a core from the truck. To get rid of this…”

“Right, no need to report every little thing like that. Just take what you need and use it. You can report it all at once later. It’s not like we don’t trust each other.”

*Ugh…*

Il-hyeon felt a pang of guilt at Jeong Jin-seong’s words, which conveyed complete trust in him.

He had, after all, consumed dozens of A-rank cores from the goods confiscated at the abandoned factory. Hearing such words, he couldn’t help but feel that way.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah… It’s nothing.”

Il-hyeon cleared his throat and turned his head away. Jeong Jin-seong looked back down, flipping through the papers in his hand.

They were summaries of the data files Song Joon-ho had extracted from the main computer here.

The computer had been destroyed during the intense fight and interference, but it didn’t matter since all the data had already been extracted onto a chip.

And within that extracted data were the locations of numerous partner organizations and bases throughout North America.

Unfortunately, there was no information on the facilities where the Awakened procedures were being performed, but it did reveal the locations of a significant number of organizations and bases that had previously eluded the CIA’s intelligence network.

Based on this information, a large-scale sweep operation led by the U.S. government would be carried out before the enemy could realize what was happening.

Since it was a simultaneous sweep of all their organizations across North America, a successful operation would inflict significant damage on an enemy that had been difficult to strike due to its highly compartmentalized structure, and their influence in the region would be drastically reduced.

There was also the possibility of a chain reaction, with new information being recovered from the raided bases.

It was safe to say that the successful raid on this Awakened facility had yielded a great deal.

“It’s been decided that the U.S. government will handle the sweep operation… which leaves two tasks for us.”

First, to uncover the full story behind the researchers who were here, including Kim Do-hoon.

To do that, an investigation of the prison where they were supposed to be incarcerated was necessary.

They needed to go in person to find out if someone on the inside had been bribed to work with the enemy, or if some kind of trickery was involved.

Checking by contact alone was risky, as the enemy could pull another trick. Sending a trusted team member in person was the most reliable method.

And second, the transport of the equipment and data from within the facility.

The plan was to move the equipment used for the Awakened procedures and the research data from this site to a suitable location.

“But do we really need to move it right away? The scale of this place is too massive to handle in a single day…”

“We don’t know what they’ll do once they find out this facility has been hit. Considering their track record, it wouldn’t be surprising if they did something crazy. Leaving important evidence here is too big a risk.”

The facility was so large that the equipment and data to be moved were mountainous, and transporting all of it at once was an immense headache.

Nevertheless, it was imperative to move it all to a secure location.

Leaving it at the facility would expose it to a large-scale attack, and there was no need to take that risk.

The plan was to mobilize not only cargo planes but also ground vehicles for the transport.

“We’ll handle the transport, so you take care of the other thing.”

Jeong Jin-seong handed Il-hyeon a bundle of documents from a corner of the table.

It contained files densely packed with information on the researchers involved, and even an officially issued entry permit for an international prison.

“The researchers were originally held at Deparc Prison, one of two international prisons, located in the South Atlantic. You’ll rendezvous with Ms. Seo Jeong-hwa from headquarters on the way and go together. According to them, the researchers who all died here are still safely locked up there without exception… Find out what’s going on and report back.”

“What? But why is Seo Jeong-hwa coming along all of a sudden?”

“Hmm… To be honest, I’m not sure either. It seems she overheard us talking about the prison. She said she knows something… and that she had to tell you in person.”

Il-hyeon’s expression shifted subtly at his words.

He grew curious about what she knew that required them to meet and talk separately.

Seo Jeong-hwa’s brainwashing had been completely undone with the help of Team Leader Yoon In-hye.

He might receive some very helpful information.

“Hmm…”

Il-hyeon buried his gaze in the documents he had been given, concentrating.

Looking at the list of the prison’s main inmates, including Kim Do-hoon, he recognized several names despite them being foreigners.

The perpetrators of terrifying incidents he’d heard about on the news as a child, the masterminds behind shocking crimes that made him click his tongue in disapproval as an adult—they were all in this prison.

And among them were many high-level Awakened.

It was only natural, as the prison housed all sorts of heinous criminals from around the world who were deemed dangerous and required special management.

To contain such Awakened, a special method was needed—something more than just iron bars.

A system that continuously generated electromagnetic waves, based on the same principle as an EMP blast, to neutralize the prisoners.

“Wait… it says the entire island the prison is on emits electromagnetic waves?”

“That’s right. It’s a living hell for the Awakened. Being trapped in there is like getting hit by an EMP blast 24/7. You’ve experienced it once before, so you know, right?”

Il-hyeon had indeed experienced it once while fighting terrorists.

He hadn’t even taken a direct hit, just been exposed to it, but his ability had been nullified, his physical capabilities had plummeted, and worst of all, the accompanying pain and mental disruption had left him disoriented.

If he had to be confined in such an environment 24/7, he might actually go insane.

The problem was that he had to walk into that place himself.

“Uh… but I’m an Awakened too?”

“Of course, there’s protective gear. It’ll still feel extremely unpleasant, though. I had to go there once for work.”

Jeong Jin-seong grimaced, as if he didn’t even want to recall the memory.

Seeing that look on his face, Il-hyeon started to worry.

“Oh, and that place you found out about at the party? Another Raven team raided it, and it was an explosives manufacturing facility, just as you thought. It was large-scale, and they said there was a huge amount of cores there too. Apparently, there were twenty A-rank cores…”

It seemed the other operation had also concluded successfully.

But the sheer quantity of cores the enemy possessed was staggering, as if they owned a core mine.

Both the Awakened procedures and explosives manufacturing must have consumed a significant amount of Ether, and the fact that they could run their facilities endlessly suggested an immense supply.

Just then, a CIA agent knocked and entered the room, looking for Jeong Jin-seong.

Jeong Jin-seong nodded and placed a hand on Il-hyeon’s shoulder before heading out.

“Anyway, it’s clear the enemy has taken a huge hit this time. We’re gaining the upper hand, but this might have really pissed them off. Be careful out there.”

“I will. You too, Team Leader.”